Coin-collector.



No. 892,322. PATENTED JUNE 30, 1908.

B. H. SMYTHF- COIN COLLECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED 0 T.20, 1905.

O 5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED JUNE 30, 1908.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E H 'SMYTHE COIN COLLECTOR. APELIOATION TILED 0CT.20,1905.

No. 892,322. PATENTED JUNE 30, 1908. B.'H. SMYTHE.

COIN COLLECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.20, 1905.

5 8HEETSSHBET 3.

No. 892,322. PATENTED JUNE 30, 1908. E. H. SMYTHE. COIN COLLECTOR.AYPLIGATION NLRB 001. 20. 1905.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

JUNE 30, 1908 PATENTED B. H. SMYTHB,

0011 COLLECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED 00120, 1005.

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entr e (EFFIKQE.

EDWIN H. SMYTHE, OF OHIO-\GO, ILLINOIS, A SSTGNOR TO ll'lfiSTllltNELECTRIC COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A OORPORATIOX OF ILLINOISCOIN-COLLECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 30, 1908.

Application filed October 20, 1905. Serial No. 283,621.

To all whom it may coin-c772:

Be it known that I, EDWIX ll. Sur'rnn, citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of (ooh and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and. useful Improvement in Coin-Collectors, oiwhich the following a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

This invention relates to a coin collector for subscribers stations oi'telephone exchanges. and its object is toprovide im proved mechanism forell'cct ing the proper disposition of a deposited coin under all thevaeving conditions which arise in practice The coin collector isdesigned particularly for use in connection with party lines, and isintended especially to provide against the loss ot' a coin deposited tocall the central ollice when the line is alread in use by an othersubscriber.

The invention is also intended to provide for the return of the coin incase the line is out of order or the operator does not rcspend, and alsoto provide for automatically directing the coin into. a permanent cashbox without any special act on the part of the operator when. aconnection which has been successfully completed is taken down.

The coin collector is also constructed in such a manner as to preventthe coin from being fraudulently returned The. invention will bedescribed in detail by reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure l is a vertical sectional view showing the coin chute and thevarious stops: Fig. 2 is a view oi the mechanism ol' the box in frontelevation, the box being shown in section; Fig; I; is a side view oi themechanism ot' the toll box: l igi -t is a plan view ot the mechanism.the box being shown in section; Fig. :7 is a sectional plan view on line5 5 of Fig. 2%: and l ig. (t is a diagram illustrating the electric.circuits of a tclephone line with which the coin collector of myinvention is associated.

The same letters ol' rcl'erencc designate the same parts throughout thedrawings.

The coin collector is provided with a coin 5O chute having a dischargeoutlet (1 into the cash boxf, and a ret'und passage u leading to arefund tray 1.1" outside the box. The receiving portion 1 of the coinchute leads truth the top of the box diagonally downward toward therear, where it turns again at o and continues in the )assage a leadingdit-igonally downward and .t'orward to the return passage A by-pass(1-"lea dsfrom the receiving chute (1 directly into the return passagea; but the entrance to this by-pass is normally closed by a guide or stol) which forms a movable portion of the 001' of the chute (1. Similarlya pocket or temporary coin-receiver c o )en's oil the continuation (1'of the coin chute, the entrance to this pocket being normally blocked bya movable guide or stop (I. When the guide (I is removed, a coin passingthrough the chutewill drop into the pocket 0, where it will be held by aremovable sto e forming the lloor of said pocket. From the pocket 6 twoexits are provided, one into the return passage (1 and the other into a)ass'age a leading to the permanent cash box When the stop is iswitlulrawm a coin in the pocket c will ordinarily be discharged throughthe passage a into the cash box; but a guide or sto g is provided whichmay be interposed at the entrance of the passage a to divert thereleased coin into the return chute a An electenl contact is arranged tobe closed by the coin soon after it enters the receiving chute. A coiniassing down the chute will be retarded at t to turn a; and aeontact-iwtuating linger 71. is located on the inner side of the chuteat said turn. The engagement of the coin with said linger will thereforebe prolonged, so that the mechanism controlled by said linger will begiven time to act before the coin moves any appreciable distance beyondthe'turn. The tinger It is carried by a lever It, which is arranged tooperate contact springs /i. As the coin engages said linger I! the leverit will be rocked upon its pivot to move the contacts 11 intoengagement-with each other. This contact It controls a circuit 7 throughone winding A" of a magnet k which operates the three stops 1) (l and e.The stops 1) and (l are normally interposed in the chute, but arewithdrawn when the magnet 7c is excited; while the stop 6 is normallywithdrawn from the chute, but is interposed therein win said magnet /t'is excited. The fourth stop 9' is operated by a magnet Z, be-

' With will pass first ing normally Withdrawn adapted to be interposedtherein when the magnet lis excited.

.T he particular arrangement of mechanism by which the magnets is and Zoperate the stops b d e g, in the preferred form of my device, is shownin Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5, but is only indicated diagrammatically in Fig.6. reference to Fig. 6, it will be noted that two views of the coinchute are shown, With dotted lines connecting the stops shown in theside view, with the stops shown in the edge view.'

ihe magnet 7c is provided with an armature k which in its movementoperates certain relay contacts, in addition to moving the stops. Thestops 1; and d are rigidly mounted upon the armature 15 so as to projectinto the coin chute when the armature is unattracted. A stop e is formedat one end of a centrally ivoted rocking lever e, the opposite end 0which is adapted to be moved by a projection carried by the armature P,so that as said armature is attracted the lever 6 will be rocked aboutits pivot to interposethe stop 6 in the path of tne coin. The stop gisformed at one end of a centrally pivoted rocking lever g", the oppositeend 9 of which is adapted to be engaged by a projection carried upon thearmature Z of magnet I, so that as said armature is attracted the leverg will be rocked about its pivot and the stop g interposed in the coinchute at the mouth of the passage 09..

Suitable electric circuits are provided for operating the magnets 7c andZ at the proper times, as shown in Fig. '6; but these circuits form thesubject matter of a separate patent No. 846628 March 12, 1907. it willbe seen, however, that a coin inserted in the chute a over the normallyinterposed stop I), and then Will strike the finger 72, hich operatesthe contact h controlling the magnet 7a.. if the circuits are tinorderrso that the magnet is excited upon the closure of contact 72., thestops 3) and 03 will instantly be Withdrawn, and the stop c inserted, sothat the coin as it continues in its passage will dropinto the pocket :2where it will be held resting upon the stop 6. The subseguentdisposition of the coin when released 0111 the pocket 0 by theWithdrawal of stop e will depend upon Whether the stop g has beeninserted in the coin chute. Ordinarily the coin when released from thepocket cwill drop into the ease. "e a, and so into the cash box; but itw en t estop e is withdrawn,

the sto -g isalso interposed, the coin, instead o falling into thepassage a will be deflected into the return c.1ute a The device isintended particularly for use Gin connection with party lines, in whichcase the magnet is nn'il be connected, to receive current when thesubscriber takes his teiefroin the chute, but

relay 0; and a spe phone from the hoolr, if a connection has alreadybeen established at the central office of the telephone line, or it asubscriber at some other station of the line has already taken histelephone from the hook to call. if a coin is deposited in the receivingchute a, when the line is already busy, the stop 5 will thus bevn'thdrawn from the entrance to the hy-pass if, so that the coin,instead of continuing on through the passage (1 will be shunted throughthe by-pass into the return passage a and so refunded to the depositor.

In the telephone system shown in Fig. 6, the subscribers line is shownextending to a central ohice switchboard, where one of the springjacksfor the line is illustrated, together With a portion of the operatorsconnecting apparatus. The electrical symbols used in the diagram arewell understood by those skilled in the art, and'the circuits may beeasily traced. It is understood, of course, that several subscribersstations may be connected upon the line between the conductors 8, 9,thereof in the same manner as the single subscribers station which isshown.

A key m is provided at each station for operation by the subscriber toregain possession of the coin under certain circumstances. At thecentral ofiice the usual line circuit is extended through the contactsof a slow-acting cial key is provided in the operators cord circuit forthrowing current t6 the line tan permit the-depositor to recover thecoin.

In the operation of the telephone'system shown, the subscriber firsttakes his telephone from the hook, and then deposits a com in the chutea. If the line is busy, either because a connection has been establishedat the central office, or because a subscriber at some other station ofthe line has taken his telephone from the hook to call, the magnet I:will be excited and stop 1) Withdrawn, so that the coin will fall intothe return chute ('1 and be refunded.

if the lineis out of order in such a way as to deprive it of his normal.current supply,

the circuit 7 which is closed by the coin in a falling past the finger kdoes not energize said magnet 7c, and in consequence the second step dremains in the chute and the coin is diverted into the refund tray.

if the n rrnal current is on the line, but for some r ason, such as theline lamp being burned out, the operator does not respond, the depositorcan regain the special key m associated Withthe coin collector, whichcauses the energization of magnet Z and the deener ization of magnet Tc,with the result that te coin is released from the pocket c and divertedinto the refund tray.

if the line is order and the operator rehis coin by pressing ceasesspends, the act of inserting the plug reverses the current on the line,so-that current is applied to the side which was previously g ounded.The coin is now under the sol c control of the operator, for currentS11)- plicd to the magnet 1.7, which holds the coin in its temporaryreceptacle through a circuit 10 Which does not include the special keym. Said key therefore is incapaole oi dcenergizing the magnet ii torelease the coin, after the operator plugs in, unless the key p is alsoactuated. The coin therefore remains in the temporary receptacle 0 underthe control of the operator, and may be deposited in the cash box uponthe mere act of pulling out the plug from the springjack at the centralollicc at the conclusion of the connection. .The result of withdrawingthe plug is that the current applied through the cord circuit iswithdrawm from the line, and owing to the delay of the slow-acting relay0 in again closing the connection of the cen tral battery with the.line, there is a brief in terval when no current flows. During thisinterval theunagnct 70 allows its armature to fall back, withdrawing thesto c antlallorw ing the coin to fall through t re iassage a into thecashbox. If the subscriber called for cannot be obtained, or if for anyother rcason the deposited coin is to bcreturn'ed to the railingsubscriber, this may be accomplished by the operator pressing herspecial key p, while the subscriber at the same time (by (.irection ofthe o orator) presses his key in. The result of this that current is cutoll from the line conductor 9, and a iplied to the line conductor 8. Themagnetdis thereby excited, whilethe magnet Jr is dccnergized, with theresult that stop (,2 is withdrawn to release the coin, and stop 9 isinscrted to dellcct the coin into the rel'und tray.

it will be observed that the same agency (the magnet Ir) which respondsto current on the line, due to its busy condition, to return the coin,responds to current in the circuit controlled by contact 7: to retainthe coin. it will further be noted that it the magnet 7r does notrespond until when the coin is deposited, the coin will be returned; butif the magnet does respond to retain the coin, the subsequent return. tonormal condition, instead of returning the coin, will cause it to bedeposited in the cash box.

I claim:

1. In a coin collector, the coml'iination with the coin chute having 'anabrupt turn therein, ot a coin-distributing mechanism located below saidturn, a contai-l-actuating linger adapted to be engaged by a passingcoin, and means controlled by said linger for operating said coindistrilniting n'ieclmnism, said linger being located at the turn ol thechute, whereby the engagement ol the coin 61 ram with said finger-isprolonged as the coin is retarded at the turn, and time is allowed fortho distributing mechanism to act before the coin reaches it.

2. in a coin collector for telephone lines, the combination with thccoinchute l-iaving an abrupt turn, of a controlling linger adapted to beactuated by the coin in its passage, said linger being located at theinner side of the turn of the chute, whereby the engagement oi the coinwith said linger is prolonged, coin distributing mechanism located belowsaid turn, and .nieans controlled by said. linger tor operating saidcoin distributing mechanism.

35. in a coin colleclor "for tclepl'ione lines, the combination with acoin chute having a normally-blocl eil refund passage (L5 near theentrance thereol', an elccironnignet, means actuated in the response ofsaid clcctroinagnot adapted to arrest a coin in the chute beyo'nd theentrance to said rel'und passage, and means also set in the response ofsaid elcctromagnet adapted to divert into said relund passage coins inthe chute above said passage.

l. in a coincollector, the combination with a box, oi a coin chutehaving a branch 1: discharging within the box, and a'rc'lund passage (tdischarging outside the box, a coinguide (I controlling the entrancetosaid branch c, a step e for retaining a coin in said branch, anclcctromagnet arranged in its rcsponsc to actuate guide d and stop a todivert a deposited coin into said branch and retain said coin therein;whereby a deposited coin auloimitically refunded if the electro magnetfails to respond, but it the tltt'llO- magnet responds the coin isretained and is subsequently discharged within the box by the morereturn of the eleetromagnet to normal condition; a second clectrornagnotand means controlled thereby .ior diverting the discharged coin into therefund passage.

5. In a coin collector for telephone lines, the coinbimition with a coinchute having a refund passage it, of an clectroinagnet, means actuatedin the response oi said elec tromagnet for diverting coins near theentrance of said chute into said rclund passage, a stop also actuated inthe rcspons-ie of said elcctroniagnct adapted to arrest a coin in thechute beyond the mouth of said refund passage, means controlled by acoin in the chute between said refund passage and said stop, for causingthe response oi said electromagnct, andindependent means for causing theresponse of said elcctromagnet; whereby a deposittul'coin will be oilher rcl'undcd or reained according as the clcctron'iagnel is excitedbefore or alter the deposit of said coin.

6. In a coin collector, the combination with the box, of a coin chutehaying a discharge oullet it within the box, of a return chute aguide 1) near the entrance to the A; eeeeee turn chute, and an electromanet Z for operinto the return chute, a Contact finger h sting saidlast-mentioned guiue; all substanadeptecl to be actuated by the coinbelow said ti eliy as set forth. guide I), a. stope adapted to retain acoin in the 1n itness WhGEGOf I hereunto subscribe chute below said.Contact, a guide (1 adapted m name this 27th day of September A. D. 15

to divert a coin into the return chute before 1905. it reaches, saidstop, an electromagnet k ar- EDWIN H. SMYTHE. ranged to operate saidguides b and d and said Witnesses: step e, a guide g in the chute belbwsaid stop Eevxxe MACDONALD, w e contmlling the passageof a 06in into there- SYLVLA Buss.

coin chute'controlling the passage of a coin

